The present invention relates, in general, to semiconductors, and more particularly, to a novel semiconductor device and method.
During the manufacturing of semiconductor devices and especially those having high performance radio frequency (RF) transistors, it is often necessary to test the resistance of the device structure including the resistance of active elements or contacts of the RF transistor in order to ensure that the transistor meets certain specifications. One common technique for testing these parameters is Kelvin probing of the transistor. Kelvin probing requires the placement of two probes on one electrical conductor in order to force a particular current and measure the voltage derived from such current. One problem with this technique is the large bonding pad area that is required to accommodate the Kelvin probes. Large bonding pads increase capacitance thereby degrading the performance of the RF transistor. Typically, bonding pads are required to be at least 100 microns in diameter in order to accommodate both Kelvin probes.
Accordingly, it is desirable to have a method of testing a semiconductor device that does not require large bond pads, and that reduces the capacitance associated with the device that is being tested.